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I would love to see the ATI X800 as an option with Dell XPS Gen 2 laptop.

For me, battery life is nice, but not as important as performance. I like the portability, but I don't mind plugging in where-ver I go - airports, friends house, at work, different locations around the house, even restaurants have available power.

systems like this should not be called notebooks, much less laptops. more like 'super huge 3 ring binder stuffed full of papers'

i like how alienware doesn't mention the weight on the 'tech specs' page of the monster. oh, i found it. "starting at 10.0 lbs*" i wonder what that asterisk is for? there is no asterisk as the bottom of the page. lets continue on to configure... oh, i get it, the asterisk tells you that that is the weight without the battery! "12.5lbs with battery"Reply

>>Seeing as I'm not going to spend the time to come up with specifics, I'm going to have to conceed the point. But, the original comment wasn't meant to be insulting, so I wish you'd lighten up. >>
I'm sorry if I seem rude or insulting, but I hate it when people say that AMD machines (or Intel machines, or Transmeta machines, or DEC machines, or Apple machines, or...) are innately unstable in some way. It's a silly argument on many levels, but one that people take to very easily if they see it. I appreciate your response, fwiw.Reply

>>I do get the thermal and power advantage of AMD, but I'm afraid my comment stands. If anything has really changed with AMD stability recently, I may be proven wrong.>>
Nothing has changed with "AMD stability". Processors can not be innately instable unless they are defective. It is possible for overheating processors to cause instability, but obviously this is not a problem with the A64.

Again: do your research before you spew BS.

>>Problems which are a minor anoyance to the average Anandtech poster are a nightmare to the average gamer who is buying the majority of computers. They want it to work, period. >>
What "problems"? Are you just assuming that AMD processors must have problems because they aren't in any of the overpriced laptops you've bought, or do you think they have problems because your friends have stability problems? If it's the latter, guess what: just because someone builds an unstable system with component X in it doesn't mean component X is causing the problem. In the case of processors, it is VERY unlikely that the CPU is the problem.Reply

I do get the thermal and power advantage of AMD, but I'm afraid my comment stands. If anything has really changed with AMD stability recently, I may be proven wrong. Problems which are a minor anoyance to the average Anandtech poster are a nightmare to the average gamer who is buying the majority of computers. They want it to work, period. Developing a laptop is difficult as it is (the reason for the price premium), so offering a choice of Intel or AMD probably isn't an option.

What has really brought laptops up to speed with desktops is the Mobility 9800 & X800 and Geforce go 6800 cards. Any performance advantage gained with AMD64 is marginal. My previous top of the line laptop was 2 years behind desktops when I got it, so I'm more than happy with the new one.Reply

#29, but the 9300's a brick.. oh, right, they're all bricks. Good price, then.

#31, I think "these AMD lovers" are just trying to say that since A64s offer (slightly) better performance in games than comparable P4s AND put out less heat, they seem like much better choices for this application. Also, if you're implying that systems based on AMD processors are somehow innately unstable, you really need to learn more about hardware before you comment on it. (Of course, that goes for most Alienware owners.)Reply

I haven't had the fan noise problem at all. My Area 51m 7700 is totally quiet. But, I'm running 'only' a 3GHz P4 and GeForce 6800 non-Ultra. This configuration uses a 180 watt power supply vs. 220 watts for the same machine with the 6800 Ultra.

Hopefully your preproduction (I assume) machine won't be typical.

Heat is a little bit anoying. I'm left handed and the hotest outflow is a few inches from my mouse hand. Lefties get screwed once again!

These AMD lovers sound like some friends of mine who tell me how great their Athlon's are as they once again reformat their hard drive.Reply

Well considering I'd spend $1500 max to build a new desktop/SFF (have an LCD already, but say that's a $400 value), and I'd spend maybe $2100 max on a laptop, it looks like the reasonable premium for me is around 10% ($1900 vs $2100) and that's assuming equal performance.

Considering most people who need a laptop for business use, have one provided by their employer or buy one that is spec'd for business use not gaming, and they will own a desktop or SFF system at home for gaming, the OMG HIGH END gaming laptop is already targeting a much smaller market of gamers who wouldn't mind the extra portability for their main gaming rig. (And let's be honest here - no one's gaming on the move. The battery life alone makes sure of that.)

They will HAVE to drop their outrageous prices if they expect to sell any reasonable amount of them (or they can continue to overprice them in order to try to turn a profit on limited sales - and by doing so sacrifice future growth for smaller immediate returns).

It becomes a strategic sales issue where it comes down to whether or not they want to think longterm. They will have to price them competitively now so they increase their future customer base and reap greater profits later. If they continue to be short-sighted, they will never achieve the growth they could with proper pricing.Reply

Very nice numbers. I'd really like to see how that system does with Rome: Total War, though. RTW is a massive hog of cpu and gpu resources when in real time battles with large numbers of troops and has been shown to crush laptops in the past.Reply

Also, I had trouble with powerstrip so I had to wait for a response to my email from ATI on clocks -- sorry for the late update.

Also, it's a little bit tweaked from the default Sager designs (aside from just the look). They kind of mix and match the parts of a couple differnt Sager offerings. Plus the aliens eyes glow blue on the lid when the notebook is on :-)Reply

"We tested the Alienware system at both 1280x1024 and 1680x1050 (the panel's native resolution). As we can clearly see, the ATI Mobility Radeon X800 XT is no slouch when it comes to pushing pixels around. The **1024x768** numbers are great, but on a notebook like this everyone will want to run native resolution."Reply

Typo on the performance page. Is it 1024x768 you tested at or 1280x1024?

I have to agree with #3, since Alienware is not locked into intel like dell, they should have gone the A64 route. However even that seems dumb when the Dell XPS with a Pentium-M chip did just as well as a desktop system, and without the heat and noise.

The only thing keeping me back is battery life. If I could get 4+ hours of full gametime on one battery I'd be good, but 2 hours is just too short.Reply

Stupid decision on Alienware's part. Why go with P4 when a similar level of performance can be achieved with mobile A64 or high end Centrino part and the fan noise could be lessened by a great deal with either of those CPUs. Not to battery life and heat output. P4 3800 is a freaking oven. I wouldn't be surprised if you could cook eggs on the underside of that laptop.Reply